The present invention relates to a method and a system for delivering application packages. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and a system for delivering application packages based on user demands.
In order to normally operate a data processor, such as a personal computer, it is often required that an operating system (OS) and some application packages operable under the OS be installed in the data processor. The OS may provide resources for operating the data processor and manage the sharing of the resources. The application packages may use the resources of the OS to perform specific tasks.
In certain cases, the data processor may be purchased including an OS and some basic application packages pre-installed in the data processor. The user of the data processor may then obtain a license for the OS and/or the application packages with or without additional fees. If the user wants the data processor to perform a special task and none of the pre-installed application packages can perform the task, the user will then need to purchase a special application package that performs the task and install the purchased special application package in the data processor before use.
Normally, the purchase of an application package means the purchase of a license which allows a user to use that application package on a single machine with an unlimited time period. However, the purchase of such a license may be very costly. Accordingly, many other types of licenses have been developed recently.
Among the recently developed licenses, an on-demand license has attracted much attention. The on-demand license allows the user to pay a fee only when the licensed application package is subscribed and/or used. The user will not need to pay anything if the application package is unsubscribed and/or not in use.
Currently, the on-demand license type is applicable mostly to web applications. However, running a web application, i.e., under a web browser, may be several times slower than running the application directly under an OS. Accordingly, there is a need to develop a method and a system that can more efficiently deliver application packages based on user demands.